The best fitness trackers for any budget in 2019

Knowledge is power when it comes to fitness. If you’re embarking on an exercise regime in 2019, knowing how far you’ve run, how long you’ve swum and even how well you’ve slept can help you keep tabs on your improvements over time.

All these features have moved over to smartwatches in the past couple of years, but there are a few reasons you might still want to buy a dedicated fitness tracker. From identifying areas you might need to work on, to the odd gentle nudge to move more, the latest raft of activity-tracking bands pack in more sensors, tracking more stats and workouts than ever before.

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These insights don’t have to come at a heart-rate raising cost (even if it can track that for you). Here are the best fitness trackers you can buy right now for every budget, workout and sport with a couple of fitness-focused smartwatches as well.

Which fitness tracker is best for you?

Fitness trackers have to do a lot of work to justify their very existence these days. We'd suggest starting with the main activity or workout you want to track and checking each tracker or smartwatch has the sensors and features you need. For running, you'll probably want built-in GPS unless you're a casual or beginner runner. For swimmers, waterproofing with be key. If you spend most of your time at the gym or in classes, you'll need a tracker that supports lots of workouts.

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Once the core features are ticked off, you can have some fun digging into the more advanced health and fitness sensors that track metrics such as VO2 max and blood-oxygen levels. These make sense for intermediate runners, competing in races and looking to maximise PBs and recovery times. You might benefit from a device you can grow into, though, and make use of extra features as you spend more time with it.

Your next choice is how important real-time feedback is and how large a screen you'd like. If you want a big screen, you'll have to pay more for a watch, but if you're happy for a small, monochrome display (or no screen at all) you're more likely to find something on the budget end. This also impacts on battery life with a range from one day to one or two weeks with limited, daily use available.

WIRED Recommends: Fitbit Alta HR

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Designed to look more like jewellery than a tracker, the Fitbit Alta HR (from £80) is available in six colour ways from understated black to pink and rose gold with special editions and accessory bands available to buy separately.

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But it’s not just a pretty face, underneath its stylish exterior you’ll find plenty of solid fitness tracking features and a battery that’ll last up to a week on a single charge.

Steps, calories, heart rate, sleep – including how long you spend in the different sleep states such as light, deep and REM – automatic activity tracking and smartphone notifications allow you to track your entire day.

And there’s no slacking off. Fitbit’s app, for iOS and Android, lets you set personal goals and the band sets you mini-goals such as 250 steps an hour, along with timely reminders to get up and be active when you’ve not moved for a while, something studies have shown is beneficial for overall health.

Fitbit's app is full of features and workouts/sports to choose from yet still manages to be beginner-friendly. The Alta HR does everything you (probably) want from a fitness tracker and does it very well. One quick note - we're currently testing the new £90 Fitbit Inspire HR - there's not a lot of innovation here though so we're confident recommending the Alta HR.

Best for running: Garmin Forerunner 935

When it comes to running, there's a ton of choice out there. Nearly all watches come equipped with GPS tracking nowadays, which allows you to see accurate distance, speed and pace and a whole lot more during the activity. However, GPS alone doesn't make a high-quality watch.

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The Garmin Forerunner 935 (£399) stands out as it will do everything you can think of and a whole lot more. The device might be expensive but it packs in pretty much every feature possible. In terms of sensors, there's a barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and thermometer. When the watch's smarts combine the data collected from these sensors it's possible to analyse your runs to a fine level of detail.

As well as running-specific features the Forerunner 935 is able to count daily steps, floors climbed and sleep monitoring. It can track indoor rowing, strength training, cardio training and automatically figures out how many reps you've done. There are advanced modes for cycling, golf and swimming.

Alongside all those features, what makes the Garmin device really standout is its battery life. It can last up to 24 hours in GPS tracking mode and two weeks in a normal watch mode. This makes it ideal for all sorts of workouts, including long distance events. It's comfy to wear but comes at a cost and may get a little grubby with daily wear.

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Best fitness tracking headphones: Jabra Elite Sport

Most manufacturers shoot for our wrists, but fitness tracking doesn’t have to be done there. If you’re someone who is primarily interested in what happens when you start and stop a serious training session, then the Jabra Elite Sport (£200) with built-in heart rate monitoring are well worth consideration as an alternative to the watch and band regulars.

A training partner in a set of headphones, when paired with the partner Jabra Sport Life app for iOS and Android, the Elite Sport use your smartphone’s GPS to power real-time audio feedback on your training, with voice cues for stats such as ​average pulse, speed, distance and cadence.

Of course, if you’re going to use earbuds as a fitness tool, they need to be comfortable, and although these are ​bulkier than some true wireless buds, they come with a selection of anchoring wing tips and gels that create a snug, unshakeable fit that won’t budge even during high-intensity fitness activities.

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The heart-rate monitor performs well against a chest strap, and the app also has sport-specific training plans, but these are a bit limited.​ ​They’re IP67 rated to fend off salty sweat and annoying rain, and you’ll get four-and-a-half hours of run time on a single charge, plus a nine-hour boost from the protective charging case.

Best smartwatch for fitness: Apple Watch Series 4

The Apple Watch Series 4 (£399) allows you to leave the phone at home (if you opt for the LTE cellular version) and still make and answer calls, ask Siri questions, get smartphone notifications and stream tracks from Apple Music, but it’s the fitness features we’re interested in, and it’s pretty much got everything you need.

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With built-in GPS, an altimeter and an upgraded fall-detecting accelerometer and gyroscope setup, you can track distance on runs, hikes and cycles and also see elevation, as well as monitoring stairs climbed throughout the day, also without your phone, something that keeps it ahead of similar rivals.

It’s swim-proof for both indoor and outdoor swims, and cleverly pairs with compatible gym equipment to ensure your indoor cardio workout stats are in sync. New for Series 4 is both an optical heart-rate sensor and an additional electrical sensor - that means faster readings, low heart-rate alerts and even ECG readings (which are US only for now).

There’s motivation to keep moving, too, thanks to the three Apple Watch activity rings – move, exercise and stand. These show how active you are throughout the day, send prompts to get you off the sofa and give rewards you with a little animation every time you close the rings, get a new personal best or achieve a milestone. One niggle: auto detection for walking only kicks in after 15 minutes.

One of the great updates in Series 4 is that the smartwatch features activity metrics and workouts for wheelchair users, making it one of the best mainstream trackers for those with mobility issues. The only wellness feature which is missing is native sleep tracking, though you can easily download a third-party sleep app.

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Best for heart-rate monitoring: Fitbit Charge 3

If you’re not wanting to carry the bulk (or pay the price) for a full-size smartwatch, the Fitbit Charge 3 (£130) is a good way to ensure you’re staying active. It’s a compact and unobtrusive fitness tracker that packs in some pretty nifty features considering its size, such as step-tracking and then some other extras that might come in useful, like calorie counting and heart-rate monitoring.

Otherwise the main features include a light, comfortable design, larger display, and for the first time in a Charge device: waterproofing, meaning it can be used to track swimming (although that’s only for in a pool and not open water). One downside, however, is that while it can track your run using GPS, this isn’t done onboard, so you’ll have to carry your phone around with you if you’re wanting to track where you’ve been.

While the specs don’t meet those of that seen on Fitbit’s smartwatch offerings, namely the Versa or Ionic, the screen does its job at being able to display information clearly despite its small size, and even in bright environments. This is thanks to its monochrome screen, which while isn’t as exciting to look at as some full-colour rivals, it does ensure battery life is kept to a minimum. Speaking of which, you’ll find the Charge 3 lasts for just under a week with normal use. While that’s not the most we've seen cited for a fitness tracker, it’s still decent enough to mean you’re not constantly having to plug it in to keep it going.

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As for the Fitbit App platform the Charge 3 uses to store all your data, it’s one of our favourites out there. It's simple to understand and easy to navigate, making it a faster and slicker experience than competing apps like Withings Health Mate. Overall, the Charge 3 offers great, all-round features for the price.

Wrist-based heart rate monitors work through optical sensors. The process of photoplethysmography (PPG) uses light to measure the blood flowing through the veins in your wrist. Different wavelengths of light are sent through the body to collect data which is then combined with information from other sensors contained within a device. Wrist-based readings are not as accurate as the heart rate monitors in chest straps but the best (Apple, Fitbit, Garmin) are now close enough to still be useful for running and workouts.

Why is GPS useful?

Wearable fitness trackers which have GPS sensors included are able to track your movements more accurately than those without. GPS is pretty essential for collecting running and cycling data. Look out for product listings, specifically Fitbit ones, that include the phrase 'connected GPS' - this actually means it needs your smartphone's GPS to work.

The best headphones for running and the gym in 2019

Best for gym sessions: Garmin Vivosmart 3

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Pros: Waterproof; counts reps; affordable Cons: No GPS

A waterproof touchscreen tracker that you can wear in the shower, pool and when you sleep, this slim Garmin Vivosmart 3 (£100) band automatically monitors your activity, so it knows not just how many steps you’ve taken, but when you’re swimming, running or training without you having to tell it.

It even uses the in-built heart-rate monitor to give you a stress rating (show that to your boss when they pile on more work).

Where it really comes into its own though is in the gym. If you want to keep track of your strength workouts, the Vivosmart has a special strength training function to count reps, sets, exercises, work and rest times and you can rifle through the data in much greater detail on the increasingly capable Garmin Connect app.

We also found the VO2 max estimate useful. Put simply, VO2 max is a measure of how effective your body is at getting oxygen to your muscles during exercise, a good indicator of aerobic fitness.

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Garmin uses this data to give you an estimated fitness age, which it’s nice to see get lower as you get fitter. Hopefully. While it’s not as accurate as a lab-grad VO2 max test, this ability to turn back the ageing clock is good motivation to move more.

Best for boxing fitness: Hykso

Pros: Highly accurate punch speed; rate and velocity dataCons: Price

Whether you spend time in the ring or use boxing or MMA for fitness, Hykso (from £150) is one of only a handful of boxing trackers designed to help both pro and amateur fighters train smarter not harder.

Co-founded by US boxer Tommy Duquette, Hykso comes in the form of two small sweat-proof trackers that fit inside your wraps. With a barely-know-it’s-there feel, when you train they send real-time data to an app on your phone including punch rate, speed, punch type – defined as left and right straight (jabs and crosses) and left and right power (hooks and uppercuts) – and intensity.

You can compare this data to other fighters to see where you stand and identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as logging your regular drills to see how you’re improving.

Unlike old-school punch counters you may have seen in the boxing gym, Hykso won’t count arm movements from skipping, battle ropes, jacks and blocks as punches, so the data is about as accurate as you can get. It’s not cheap but if you’re after serious stats, these things pack a punch.

Best for swimming: Moov Now

When it comes to waterproof fitness trackers for swimming, you’re usually looking at a pretty high price point, but the affordable Moov Now (£55) offers swim tracking alongside audio coaching and cadence monitoring on the run, rep counting for online workouts and cardio boxing and cycling data, so there’s no need to splash out.

Wear it in the pool and it automatically tracks your laps, time, distance, pace and stroke with all the data synced to your phone so you can analyse how you’re improving and check out your time per lap.

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The Moov app, for iOS and Android, also provides handy pro tips after your workout, suggesting areas to work on when you next hit the pool.

The main issue compared to more expensive trackers, though, is that the data isn’t visible on your wrist, only in the smartphone app. As it’s unlikely you’ll want to leave your phone poolside, you’ll have to wait till you’re back in the changing rooms to see how you did, but if this is your first foray into swim tracking it’s a bargain way to do it.